On Your Side
by Nell Reed
Summary: Someone from Kate's past is back and threatening not only her safety, but also of someone she loves. Will she ask her friends for help or go it alone? I haven't written in a while. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned NCIS, I don't. I do, however, own Lilly and the rest of Kate's cousins and her aunt and uncle.

1st A/N: So…I'm not really sure about the spacing. I think it's been about two years since I uploaded any fics and I remember something screwy happened with my spacing. If it's not right…I'll fix it. Thanks for reading. :]

Chapter One

Special Agent Kate Todd and McGee work silently in the bullpen in the NCIS building. Gibbs is

off talking to Abby about evidence and Tony is late…as usual. The past few days had been slow.

Apparently nobody was in the mood for killing or kidnapping Naval officers. Good for them, bad for

NCIS.

Suddenly, Tony's head pops around the corner. Once seeing that the coast is clear, meaning

Gibbs is not in, he quickly runs to his desk, sits down and leans back in his chair.

"Good morning, Kate," he smirks at Kate who ignores him. He crumples a piece of paper and

tosses it at her. She continues to focus on her computer screen and the large amount of paperwork on

her desk.

"McGee," he snaps. "Talk to me. What's up with Kate."

"Uh…I think she's working…like you should be," he responds. "Before Gibbs comes back and

sees you goofing off."

The elevator door opens and Tony quickly grabs a file and starts filling out paperwork.

"Pack up, everybody."

Everyone immediately looks up.

"What do we got, Boss?" asks Tony who is obviously excited to get out of doing paperwork all day.

"Possible kidnapping of a marine." Gibbs answers as he grabs his gear. While he's distracted, Kate throws her pen and hits Tony in the head. He glares at her and she smiles back at him.

The team quickly packs their belongings from the desks and head out to the truck. Kate sits in between

Gibbs, who is driving, and Tony who occupies the passenger seat. Poor McGee is forced to sit in the

back where there are not seatbelts. Gibbs takes a sharp turn and McGee slams against the sides.

"We really should get seat belts back there." Kate looks at Gibbs. "Are you alright, McGee?"

McGee gives a thumbs up sign and Kate turns back around.

"It's good for him." Tony smirks.

"And why's that, Tony?" Kate asks, not really wanting to hear his explanation.

"It'll toughen him up." He turns to look at Kate. She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to say

something back, but the van stops in front of an apartment building and they all get out.

"Whoa," Tony mumbles as the team stands in the doorway of the apartment. The room in front of them is the biggest room in the apartment, the living room. It looks as if some sort of natural disaster went through it. The small kitchen that is off the left of the apartment is also a mess and so is the bedroom.

"Tony, start a sketch. Kate, pictures. McGee, bag and tag." Gibbs orders as he looks around the room.

The rest of the team goes off to do their respective jobs while Gibbs pokes around. He walks into a

bedroom. Noticing Gibbs is gone, Tony takes the opportunity to start a conversation.

"You know, Kate, this reminds me of a movie…" Before he is able to finish his sentence he receives a

slap to the back of the head from Gibbs. "Sorry, Boss." He apologizes sheepishly.

"McGee, get samples of the blood in the bedroom for Abby." Gibbs orders. McGee scurries off into the

bedroom to get the samples.

"This is a pretty nice place…or at least…it would be if it wasn't a complete mess." Tony says. "Who

owns this place anyway?"

Gibbs looks at the paper. "Peter Connelly. Oh, and when you're done, DiNozzo, I want the tapes from the security cameras in the hall."

Kate looks at Gibbs. "What's the name again?"

"Peter Connelly." He repeats. "Why? You know him?"

"No." She lies, turning away to take some more pictures. Gibbs suspects something but doesn't push it.

Kate leaves the living room and enters the bedroom that McGee had taken the blood from. On the

desk, she sees something familiar, but doesn't want to risk McGee seeing it. Finally, he leaves and she

picks up the ring. She checks the inside of the ring. It reads : _Lilly_. Kate looks at the ring with a confused

look on her face. "What are you doing here, Lilly?" she whispers sadly to herself. She hears footsteps

and slips the ring into her jacket pocket. Suddenly, Gibbs enters.

"You ready, Kate?" he asks.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." He nods and leaves the room. She decides to break protocol by not

logging the ring as evidence. She takes the ring out of her pocket and looks back down at it. Biting her

lip, she slides it back in her pocket and meets the rest of the team out by the truck.

On the way back the NCIS, Tony rambles on about movie references the entire way as McGee slams

around the back of the truck. Both Kate and Gibbs are silent the entire way.

The team exits the truck and brings the evidence to Abby for processing. Kate goes off to develop the

pictures she took. Abby runs the blood. The result that pops up on the screen seems odd, so she runs it

again, only to get the same result. Knowing that this could be important, she calls the rest of the team

down to her lab.

Abby starts talking the second they all come through the door.

"I ran the blood and found two different donors. Nothing exciting, right? WRONG!" she lunges out of her chair and grabs Gibbs by the lapel of his jacket over to the screen. "So…I ran all of the blood, expecting to get only two people, but when I ran the blood through the database, I got…"

Kate finishes her sentence. "Three people." They all turn to look at Kate who crosses her arms.

"She's right, I did get three people."

Gibbs looks back at Kate. "Lucky guess."

"Three people? How, Abbs?" Tony asks.

"Identical twins." Abby answers. "The other blood has some things in common also."

"Brother?" asks Gibbs.

"Nope, but that's a good guess. Father. His name is Jonathon Connelly. He lives in a house on the outskirts of the city."

"Got anything else, Abbs?" Gibbs asks.

Abby shakes her head. "Not much. I still have a few prints running."

"Alright, call us when you find something else." Abby salutes Gibbs and the rest of the team as they walk out the door.

The team leaves Abby's lab to track down Jonathon Connelly's family to inform them that he's missing. They call his house, but there is not answer.

Tony goes out on a coffee run. McGee is down with Abby and Gibbs is…well, nobody really knows where Gibbs goes. Kate is alone at her desk. She looks around to double check before she pulls out the ring. She remembers giving the ring as a present.

::Flashback::

"Kate!" A teenage girl in a high school graduation cap and gown runs up to the brunette and throws her arms around her neck. "I was afraid you weren't going to show." She smiles. Her black bangs cover her eyes and she brushes them off to the side.

"Did you really think I'd miss your graduation?" The girl smiles sheepishly and shakes her head.

"It's just…I know you're wicked busy with Air Force One…and Dad said you weren't coming" The girl shrugs.

Kate laughs. "Since when do you believe what Uncle Jon tells you? I'd never miss this. Oh, I just remembered," Kate pulls a small box out of her jacked pocket. "This is for you."

The girl takes the box from Kate and opens it. Inside is a silver ring with the diamonds embedded into it. One bigger diamond and two smaller ones on the sides. The girls name is also engraved on the inside. "Kate…I'm sorry. I can't accept this."

Kate looks at her like she's crazy. "What?! Why?"

"Because I can't marry you. Marriage between first cousins is not legal. Not to mention wicked gross." She giggles. Kate rolls her eyes and smiles. "Really, Kate, it's beautiful. Thank you. Not just for the ring. For everything. For being there when I really needed you. I…" Her eyes get watery and Kate pulls her into a hug. During the hug, Kate notices a dark bruise on the back of the girl's neck.

"You don't have to thank me, Lilly. I'll always be here for you, I promise."

::End Flashback::

Tears form in her eyes as she remembers the promise she broke. Kate stops fiddling with the ring and slides it onto her right ring finger.

Tony enters the bullpen with the coffee. After placing everyone else's coffee on their respective desks, he walks over and sits on Kate's. Before he can crack a joke, reference of movie or just be annoying in general, Gibbs enters.

"What do we got?"

"We pulled the phone records from the two brothers and didn't really get anything out of the ordinary. Calls to a couple of pizza places and Chinese restaurants, a dry cleaning place, some friends and their parents." Tony answers while trying to get a better look at Kate's ring.

"Their parents called?" Kate asks while pulling her hand away.

Tony turns to face her. "Uh…yeah, Kate, it's normal for people to receive calls from their parents." He sneers.

Kate rolls her eyes and walks back to her desk. McGee steps out of the elevator and joins Gibbs and Tony in front of the television screen.

"Jonathon Connelly hasn't been reported missing." McGee says.

"His wife hasn't reported him missing yet?" Says Tony.

"I guess not." McGee shrugs.

"DiNozzo, McGee, I want both of you to stop by his house. See why his wife hasn't reported him missing." Gibbs orders. They pack their gear and leave.

"Kate, pack your gear too. You and I are going to Kyle Connelly's apartment." Kate nods and quickly grabs everything she needs. They both step into the elevator and

About an hour later, McGee and Tony arrive at the Connelly residence. The door opens after they knock and they are met by a woman with medium height and short black hair.

"Can I help you?" She asks politely.

"Yes, ma'am. We're looking for Allison Connelly." She informs them that she is Allison Connelly. "Oh, well, we have a few questions for you. Why haven't you reported your husband missing?"

"Because he's not." She answer slowly. As she says that, a tall man with dark hair comes to the doorway.

"Hello, I'm Jon and I'm most definitely not missing." He smirks.

2nd A/N: Okay. I forgot to mention it before, I'm bringing back several people who have died. Kate being one of them. I refuse to accept Kate's death. It didn't happen. Director Shepard will also be in this story because she's cool and I was disappointed when I found out that she died. I might bring more people back, but who knows. Don't kill me, m'kay? This is fanFICTION. Notice the emphasis on the FICTION.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. No copyright infringement intended.

1st A/N: Do you know what makes me sad? No reviews. How am I supposed to know if you people like this story and want it to continue. All you have to say is "Continue." One word. You can say more if you like, I'm just saying. If I don't get anymore reviews, I won't post anymore. It's your decision, haha.

Chapter Two

"Care to explain how your blood ended up in your missing son's apartment?" asks Gibbs. The man leans forward and places his palms flat on the table.

"It happened like this:" he starts. "My sons and I were having dinner in Peter's apartment. Just the twins and I. My other son Brian wasn't able to come that night." Gibbs nods, urging him to continue. "We were just cleaning up, havin' a few beers when these three guys in masks burst through the door and start waving guns around saying if we didn't cooperate, they'd shoot us. Took my boys. Told me if I ratted them out, they'd find me and shoot me. Now, I've been tryin' to find out who these men are. Believe me, they won't get away with this."

Gibbs asks him a few more questions and he is eventually released. Gibbs offers him an officer to watch over him at all times, but Jonathon declines. "I like my privacy," was his exact answer. Gibbs eyes his back as he walks out the interrogation room door.

"Can't say I wouldn't have done the same." Tony shrugs behind the glass. McGee nods in agreement to his left. He turns to Kate.

"What about you, Kate? Would you have done the same?"

"No." she answers as she leaves the observation room, making sure to go in the opposite direction that Jonathon left.

The team gathers back in the bullpen to discuss everything.

"Find anything at Kyle's apartment?" asks Tony, feet resting on his desk while he leans comfortably back in his chair.

"Not really. His apartment was clean, no sign of a struggle. Nobody's seen him in days, though. We checked the security cameras and he was last seen leaving at six on the night he went over to his brother's." Kate answers.

"Oh, by the way, Boss, the security cameras in the hall didn't really give us anything useful. It showed a guy in a mask throwing something over it and pulling it off about a half an hour later."

"Didn't want to leave anything behind." Kate states and Tony nods.

"There could've been three attackers, but there's no way to prove it." Says McGee.

"Find something that proves it."

"Okay, Boss." McGee leaves his desk and goes down to Abby's lab. Gibbs, Kate and Tony discuss the case for a few more minutes. Gibbs leaves to go to talk to the Director, leaving Kate and Tony alone in the bullpen.

Seizing the opportunity to mess with Kate, he walks over and sits on the edge of her desk.

"I noticed that you have a new ring." Kate covers her hand and glares at him.

"Yeah, I do." She snaps at him. _Wearing the ring was a mistake. I should've known he would see it,_ she thinks to herself. Tony smile and leans closer to her.

"So…who's the new guy, Kate?"

"There is no "new guy", Tony." She looks back at him to see a huge grin plastered on his face. "What?!"

"If it's not a man…" Tony leans in even closer. Kate glares, knowing where he's going with this. "That means it must be a woman. Who's the new woman, Kate?"

"Dinozzo, stop harassing Kate." Gibbs orders as he slaps Tony on the back of the head and sits down at his desk.

"Sure, Boss." He sits down at his desk. "We'll talk later." He mouths to.

Gibbs, being the all knowing man that he is says "No you won't." Kate smirks at Tony who is still trying to figure out how Gibbs seems to see and know all.

"It's getting close to dinner time."

"Who's turn is it to go get the food?"

"Y'know, Boss, I think it's Kate's turn." Tony smirks. Kate scoffs as she pushes away from her desk and grabs her purse and she walks to the elevator.

At first, Kate was against the idea of going out to get the Chinese food, but she soon realized that it would give her a chance to get away from the case…and Tony.

It was rush hour, so traffic was pretty slow. Slow enough for someone to follow her on foot. It wasn't hard for her to go unnoticed, there were hundreds, possibly thousands of people leaving work to go home or out. It was Friday, after all.

"I should've just walked" Kate sighs as she presses the back of her head to the cool leather of the headrest. "What am I doing?" she asks herself as she sits at one of the countless stoplights. "I stole evidence…I'm keeping things from my boss. A few years ago, I never would've even dreamed about doing something like this."

After waiting for what seemed like hours in traffic, she finally arrives at the usual restaurant. It was a rather small place with red tiled floors and white walls. There seemed to be a lack of sanitation as the walls were almost a light brown rather than white and the majority of the red tiles were stained brown from the dirt customers had tracked in. _We need to find a new restaurant_.

After ordering the food, she sits down at an empty table towards the front of the restaurant. Outside, people could be seen scurrying around with backpacks, briefcases and shopping backs. Kate looks away after all the people start to look the same. As she looks away, she catches someone in her peripheral vision. Someone who stands out of the crowd; someone she knows.

Forgetting about the food, she pushes through the glass door and looks in the direction the person was walking. The familiar face is gone; lost in a stormy sea of clones. Realizing that her food is probably done, she wanders back into the restaurant. The cashier recognizes her and hands her the bags. She thanks him and walks back to her car that she parked a few blocks away.

Upon approaching the car she notices something seems…off. Something's not right. She looks around at all the people bustling by, not even noticing that she's there. In the street, there's a car, waiting to take her parking space. The driver becomes impatient and honks his horn. Kate looks at her tires.

"Shit." She curses. While she was in the restaurant someone had slashed all four of her tires. The driver in the SUV waiting to take her spot blasts the horn again. She looks him in the eye and shakes her head, silently signaling that she's not going anywhere. The other man in the passenger seat flips Kate off.

Her cell phone vibrates in her pocket.

"Hello?" she answers, obviously annoyed.

"Uh…yeah. Everything okay, Kate?" Tony.

"Yes…" she quickly revises her answer. "No. Someone slashed my tires. Can you come pick me up?"

They quickly worked out the details and a few minutes later, Tony arrives. Kate gets into the car and places the bags of food on the floor by her feet. Tony looks at it.

"How long have you been out there for?" he inquires.

"I don't know. Fifteen minutes maybe? Why?"

"Just wanted to know if the food's going to be cold or if I should order a pizza because you know, the chicken gets kind of mushy when you heat it up and I just don't like-" Tony stops once he sees the glare he's receiving from Kate

"My tires were slashed and all you can think about is how your food might be cold?"

"Right. I'll stop talking now."

From behind the immoveable car, the familiar face Kate saw earlier watches as Tony drives away. Kate is safe…for now.

2nd A/N: Okay. I feel good about this story. I WILL FINISH THIS.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: You know the drill, dearies.

1st A/N: I got reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you. :D

Chapter Three

It was 7:30am when Gibbs walked in. He chuckled a little as he saw Tony asleep in an awkward position in his chair. He couldn't see Agent Todd, but he assumed she was lying in her usual spot behind her desk. After working with her for three years, it was a pretty safe bet. He wasn't sure where McGee was.

"Hey, DiNozzo." He waited for a few seconds before trying again. "HEY!" he shouted, waking not only Tony, but also Kate.

"I'm ready, Boss!" he slurred after practically falling out of his chair. Seconds later, Kate shot up, hitting her head on her desk. Tony laughed at Kate while taking a small glass of water and a toothbrush.

"Kate, I never knew you used such language." He scolded mockingly. Kate shot a glare at him as he walked out of the bullpen.

"You alright, Kate?" Her boss asked. She nodded and rubbed her eyes, pulling herself up from the floor.

She nodded her head and walked away with a change of clothes in hand.

Gibbs smirked at her disheveled appearance. She tried to say to look put together.

Tony and McGee arrived in the bullpen at the same time. They sit down at their desks and begin to work.

"Where were you, McProbie? I didn't see you when I woke up this morning."

"I was downstairs helping Abby. I went down before you woke up."

They continued their mindless and slightly annoying chatter for about thirty more seconds. They stopped when a civilian entered. She strode in confidently.

"Mrs. Connelly, can we help you?"

"Agent DiNozzo, Agent McGee, you said that if I found out any information pertaining to the case, I should call you." Both the agents nodded. "My husband was kidnapped."

"When?" Gibbs asked.

"Last night, Agent…?"

"Your husband was kidnapped last night and you waited until now to report it?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"I figured you run on state hours." She shrugged.

Kate heard the voice of her aunt and panicked. She knew that she shouldn't really have been afraid, her aunt was a lovely person. It was her uncle she was worried about. She tried to go back to the elevator, but the door closed. Feeling trapped, she decided to see if MTAC was empty. She quickly walked by the entrance to the bullpen, hoping she had done so unnoticed. She hadn't. Gibbs noticed as she walked by and up the stairs into MTAC, which she promptly exited, as it was occupied. Finally, she disappeared into the Director's office. He turned his full attention back to the woman standing in front of his desk. He'd deal with Kate later.

Kate wandered awkwardly around the waiting room for the Director's office.

"Should I tell the Director that you're here?" asked Cynthia.

"Oh…no. I don't need to see her. Do you mind if I stay in here for a little bit?" Cynthia told her she didn't mind. She paced for a while, thinking of what to do. _Gibbs is going to kill me_. If it was any other case, she would've stayed down stairs. But it wasn't any other case. Two of her cousins had been kidnapped, most likely by their father, her uncle. She had no idea where her other three cousins were, but she was only worried about one.

The Director opened her door and stopped upon seeing Kate pacing around the waiting room.

"Agent Todd." She said to pull Kate out of her mind and back into reality.

"Oh, I was just…" she couldn't think of an excuse. What was she supposed to say? _I'm hiding from my aunt who is currently downstairs reporting my uncle missing._ She knew that wouldn't go over well.

Director Shepard raised her eyebrows and waited for the woman to collect her thoughts and come up with a reasonable excuse. "Do you need to speak with me?"

Kate shook her head no.

"Then I suggest you leave." Kate nodded sheepishly. Just as she was about to leave, the door opened and Gibbs walked in. He quickly grabbed Kate by the sleeve and guided her out of the room and back down to the bullpen.

"I don't know why you're avoiding these people…" he began.

"What do you mean "people"?"

"You're avoiding that family like the plague. Is there anything you want to tell me, _Agent Todd_?" Kate shook her head no. "Alright. Grab your gear, we're going to the Connelly house. Is that going to be a problem?"

Kate answered no again.

"Good. Let's go."

The car ride over to the house was silent. Kate was afraid if she started talking, she'd say something she'd regret. And Gibbs? Well…he was just being Gibbs.

They arrived at the house to find the door locked.

"I'll walk around back to see if there's another way in." Gibbs walked around the side of the house and disappeared. He tried all of the windows: locked. Finally, he found the sliding glass back door. Before he could reach for the handle, the door opened and Kate stood in the doorway.

"I found a spare key." He nodded and she moved to the side to let him enter. They searched the house for evidence, fingerprinted the security pad and took pictures. In the basement, they found his personal laptop. Figuring there could be something on it, they took it back to the lab.

"Ready?"

"Almost, hold on." Kate walked back to the sliding glass door and locks it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm locking the doors." She responded as locked the front door and carefully placed the spare key back where she found it.

Kate looked down at the box of evidence Gibbs handed her.

"You aren't going to help me?"

"No."

"I can't take all of this!"

"Not in one trip, no." And he walked away. _This is for this morning_, she thought angrily as she stacked the boxes. Determined to make it in one trip, she slung the laptop bag over her shoulder and picked up the stacked boxes. After several minutes of struggling and walking into people she finally made it to Abby's lab.

"KATE!" The cheery lab rat turned around, her dark pigtails swinging. "What do you got for me?" she asked as Kate carefully set down the evidence on the table.

"Run the fingerprints, search the computer…" Kate continued on with the usual list.

"Kate…" Abby interrupted. When Abby realized she had her best friend's full attention, she continued. "Is there something wrong?" A bit of worry crept into her voice.

"No…I'm just tired." It wasn't a complete lie. She hadn't been sleeping well.

"There's something wrong. I know it. Why won't you tell me?"

"I'll be fine, Abs."

"So there is something! You can tell me, y'know."

_No I can't._

"Really, Abby. It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

A/N: Okay. I switched to past tense and in the beginning, it was easier. I'm switching back to present.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. They belong to whoever owns them.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them. :] I've already finished the story so I'll be updating everyday or so.

To MartiniKisses and meherm: Um…It probably won't be a Kibbs story. To be honest, I'm not all that good at writing romance fics. I'm maybe thinking about writing a sequel though, so maybe in that? :D

Chapter Four

Gibbs, Caf-Pow in hand, enters Abby's lab to see if she's made any progress with the evidence from the house.

"I ran the fingerprints you guys got from the house and I got five people. Jonathon Connelly, Allison and three unknowns." She takes a sip of her Caf-Pow.

"Is that all you got?"

"If you'd let me finish…" she smiles and Gibbs waits patiently. "I figured I'd run them against the fingerprints that still haven't given me a name yet from the marine's apartment against these and I got a match. The three people that kidnapped Mr. Connelly were also in his son's apartment."

Just as she finishes speaking, one of her machines starts beeping frantically. She runs to it.

Three pictures are on the screen. "These are the owners of the fingerprints." Abby smiles. "I'll email all the information to Kate. It should be waiting for you went you get upstairs." Gibbs smirks and walks into the elevator. She waves to him as the doors close.

By the time Gibbs enters, all of the information is on the plasma, Tony is looking for background on them and McGee is pulling phone records.

"Boss, the three suspects' names are Stephen Capuzzo, Robert King and Michael Kellerman. Their previous crimes include…breaking and entering."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, I know. I expected a longer list too…"

"The only calls they've been receiving on their cell phones is from a payphone and a Bill Wolff." McGee announces.

"Where's the payphone?"

"I'm still looking, hold on." He taps a few more keys on his keyboard and a piece of paper slowly slides out of his printer. "It's outside an abandoned warehouse a couple miles from the city. Someone just made a call to Robert King's cell phone."

"Good job, McGeek." Tony nods.

"Gear up. We're gonna go check that warehouse."

They soon gather in the truck and speed over to the warehouse.

"Nice part of town." Tony looks around, being sarcastic. "Perfect place for a family. I can see it now. A nice picket fence…" Gibbs slams the car door and Tony gets the hint.

"Uh…Boss…"

"What is it, McGee?"

"The door's open." They all draw their weapons and file into the building silently.

Dirt and grime covers the walls. The floor is covered in trash and can't be seen; in some places, the trash is piled into mountains well over ten feet tall.

"Clear." Gibbs states.

"Clear." Tony.

"Clear." McGee.

"Kate?" Gibbs asks.

"Hey, you should look at this." The three men wade through the trash to where Kate's standing. Their eyes fall on three bodies in odd position partially covered in trash and a lot of blood. McGee gags and walks away.

"Never could stomach the gory ones, could you, McProbie? This is just like a horror movie I saw when I was a kid. Couldn't sleep for weeks-"

"TONY! Will you _shut up_?!" Kate throws a piece of trash at him. Noticing that her three coworkers are staring at her, she becomes nervous. "I'm going to take a look at the payphone." And she leaves.

McGee is the first to break the silence. "I'll call Ducky." Gibbs nods and looks over at Tony who still hasn't moved from his spot.

"Boss, I think something's bothering Kate."

"Y'think, DiNozzo?" the older gentleman snaps back.

The air outside is brisk and Kate tugs her sleeves so they cover her hands. She looks for the telephone booth, her brown eyes taking in her surroundings. She was almost alone. The only other person outside is McGee who is calling Ducky. She finds a few fingerprints on the phone, but that's it. Nothing really exciting. She works in a trance until something breaks her out of it. A sound.

She pokes her head out of the box to see a figure skateboarding by…which was odd to say the least. This wasn't the best part of town and the stranger looked like a young girl. She was alone.

"Hey!" Kate tries to get her attention. The girl stops, but faces away from Kate. "You really shouldn't be riding around by yourself. It's dark and…HEY!" The girl grabs her skateboard and runs down a side street and Kate follows. "NCIS! Stop!" The girl looks over her shoulder for a moment and then turns her head back, she makes a quick decision to take a sharp right down a dark alley.

Kate rounds the corner to see an empty alley filled with garbage. She looks around. _I saw her run down here. She's here._ Kate draws her gun and looks down the dark street.

She doesn't see the girl watching her from the fire escape. She wraps her fingers around the cool, rusty metal as she watches Kate, the person she loves the most, walk away. A small sigh escapes her lips as she shifts her weight onto her heels and looks away, trying to blink back tears. "I miss you, Kate." She whispers as she climbs back down and skateboards away in the opposite direction of the crime scene.

She leaves unsatisfied and walks back into the warehouse. Ducky and Jimmy Palmer had finally arrived. Ducky was crouched down next to one of the bodies and Jimmy was standing at his side, ready to hand him anything he needed.

Ducky looks up at Kate as she enters. "Caitlin! How nice to see you! We were afraid you had gotten lost. How are you, my dear?"

Kate mumbles a quick "Fine," and puts up with his small talk and odd stories for a few more minutes.

"Nice to have you back, Kate. Where you been?" Her boss asks as he walks by.

"I was printing the telephone booth."

"It doesn't take that long."

"I decided to take a walk." She snaps causing Gibbs to walk away, obviously pissed. Tony walks behind her quietly.

"Is there something wrong, Kate?" Startled by his unusual seriousness, she shakes her head "no."

"Because you know, if something's bothering you or if you need help, you can come talk to me." He places a hand on her shoulder in hopes of comforting her.

"Thanks, Tony, but I think I'll be okay." He nods and pats her on the back before walking away to torture McGee.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Eh…the usual.

Chapter Five

"Abby…I need-"

"I know what you need, Kate, and I'm doing my best, but you have to give me more time. The laptop's totally encrypted! Some of the encryptions have encryptions."

"Abby…"

"I'll call you when I get something, okay?" Kate sighs, obviously frustrated.

"I'm sorry." Abby turns around, but Kate is already gone. "That was very Gibbs-like."

Upstairs, Tony is sitting at his desk, calling the suspect/kidnapping victim's wife asking her to come in to clarify a few things…like why his laptop is encrypted and such. She agrees and Tony hangs up.

Gibbs enters. "What do we got?"

Tony sits back in his chair. "Well, we got the wife coming in."

"Why, DiNozzo?"

"Because…we want to know why that laptop's encrypted…"

"You couldn't ask that over the phone?"

"Uh…well…you see…" Gibbs ignores him and walks to the elevator. As he's about to press the button, the door opens and Kate steps out. She nods and him and tries to exit.

"Jonathon Connelly's wife is coming in."

"I will…" Kate looks at her watch: noon. "Go get lunch." Gibbs nods with a smirk on his face as he enters the elevator. "Oh," Kate turns around. "Abby doesn't have anything. I was just down there." The elevator door closes and Gibbs is gone.

Tony watches Kate as she grabs her purse and jacket. "And where do you think _you're_ going, Agent Todd?" He stands in front of her, preventing her from exiting the bullpen.

"Tony…if you want lunch, I suggest you move now before _I_ move you."

"Chinese?" Kate nods.

"Okay, I want the…" Tony continues on with the ridiculously long list of food that he _needs_. Kate mutters something and walks past Tony to leave.

"Oh and Kate?" She turns around. "Don't forget the sauce this time. The chicken's really not the same without it." Kate glares at Tony and he smiles.

Outside, the girl that followed Kate before is sitting outside reading a magazine, or at least pretending to. She grabs hold of her skateboard and helmet as she sees Kate exit the building alone. The girl blends in with the other hungry employees of the Naval Yard as Kate walks to the garage. Kate unlocks the car and closes the door. The follower waits behind the car next to hers and fastens her helmet. Kate backs the car out and the girl grabs onto the bumper, making sure to duck low enough so Kate doesn't see her.

Two blocks before the Chinese restaurant, Lilly lets go and glides down the sidewalk, making sure to stay behind the car.

Kate finds a parking space, locks the car and walks into the restaurant. Feeling as if she's safe inside, Lilly sits on the steps leading up to an apartment building and pulls out her cell phone. She's curious as to who slashed Kate's tires before and is trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.

A few minutes later, a navy van turns down an alley. Lilly shifts on the steps to get a better view. The van parks and a man steps out, a knife in his hand.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a retractable baton. She brings her hand up by her should and snaps it down quickly, opening the baton. Seeing that he's heading around the corner, she places the baton out of site and waits in the doorway for the man to…well…do something.

He looks around to see if the street is empty. Content with the population, or lack thereof, he brings the knife to the back left tire. Lilly takes this as her cue and quickly sneaks up behind the man. He's too caught up in what he's about to do to notice that there is someone standing directly behind him with the baton raised.

Just as he's about to press the knife in, the baton makes contact with his head and a cracking noise is heard. The man falls head first into the car. She grabs his should and turns him over so she can see his face. _Bill Wolff, a friend of my father's_, she thinks as she checks his pulse. _Alive, unfortunately. Too bad he'll wake up with just a headache. I was hoping he wouldn't wake up at all._

She knows that Kate will be coming back soon with the food and grabs Bill by the collar into the alley. She opens the door to the backseat and shoves him inside, not really paying attention to being gentle in doing so. She locks the car, closes the door and walks out of the alley to see the parking spot that Kate's car occupied vacant.

She shrugs. "Ah, well. I'm sure she'll make it back safely." She hops onto her skateboard and begins to make her way back to NCIS building.

"GIBBS!" The young lab tech exclaims. "I HAVE A MATCH TO THE BULLETS!"

Gibbs nods, urging her to continue.

"They match a gun to one that was used in some murders a couple years ago."

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"Fine." She rolls her eyes. "Specifically, it was used to kill Stephen Smith and Thomas Kramer…if you _must_ know."

"Who owns the gun?"

"Well, originally it was owned by Thomas Gordon, but it was stolen in 1994."

"And the computer?" Abby tries to sneak a sip of the Caf-Pow, but Gibbs pulls it away which causes Abby to pout and let out a small whine. "Abs…" Gibbs warns.

"I'm still working on decrypting it, but I don't think it's going to be done anytime soon, Gibbs. It's crazy. I'm sorry." She tries to reach for the drink again, but Gibbs pulls it away.

"One more thing and then you get this." He shakes the Caf-Pow. "What's going on with Kate?"

Abby hesitates, no really knowing how to answer. She doesn't know exactly what's wrong, but she knows something is up with her friend. "I don't know." Gibbs raises his eyebrows in surprise. He figured that Kate would've at least told Abby what was bothering her. "Don't think I didn't try to get it out of her. She didn't want to talk and you know how angry she gets when you try to force her to tell you something." Gibbs nods in agreement.

"If she tells you and it's something serious, you need to tell me, Abs. I don't want a repeat of what happened with Ari." She nods solemnly; a silent promise. Gibbs turns and walks through the sliding glass door.

"Gibbs! Wait! What about my Caf-Pow?" She whines. He continues walking and holds up his hands to show that he has nothing. Realizing that he's pulled a Gibbs, she turns around to see the large caffeinated drink resting on her table. She picks it up and sips it happily as she looks at some information on her computer.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers: Usual, DUH!

A/N: I've also forgotten to mention that I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine. Don't kill me. :P

Chapter Six

She had contemplated her options; she wasn't a big fan of any of them. Sleep on the floor at work or stay with Abby, Tony or McGee. It was late and everyone in the NCIS building would be gone and the last thing she wanted was to be alone. It was too dangerous. She could stay with Abby, but she'd probably be up all night worrying anyway. Abby was a lovely person, in fact, Abby was her best friend, but Abby was not the person that could make her feel safe that night. McGee wasn't too tough either. Tony could provide the safety she needs. She knew he would protect her with his life. However, she wasn't in the mood for his crude and childish humor tonight.

And then there was her last option: Gibbs.

She realizes that she's going too fast and slows down immediately. She doesn't need to get stopped tonight. The only sound that can be heard in the car is the taps from the rain on her windshield. Suddenly become aware and annoyed with the sound, she turns on the radio, finds a song she likes and starts singing along. It makes her feel less stressed and most importantly, less alone. She pulls up to a long red light and stops. The music doesn't seem so comforting anymore. She realizes that she's stationary and that if someone really wanted to, they could just break one of her windows and kill her. Seconds before the light turns green, she locks and door and checks all her mirrors: no one.

After what seemed like hours, she parks outside of her boss' house. _What am I doing here?_ She asks herself. _He'll ask questions and I'll have to tell him. He'll take me off the case. He'll…_ she continues on until suddenly she snaps out of it and opens her car door. She slams it and the sound echoes throughout the empty street. There are no clouds, there is no wind. Nothing to hint that something maybe wrong…but something is. Something is definitely wrong.

Her eyes dart around nervously as she walks down the front walkway. There are no lights on in the house, at least…none that she can see. _I don't want to wake him. But then again, I don't want to go home either_. After a few more seconds of contemplating she walks to the back yard to see if there are any lights on back there. None.

It was close to one o'clock in the morning when he heard an unfamiliar sound upstairs. He had been working on his boat for a couple of hours and his eyes were beginning to close, when he heard the noises upstairs. He puts down his tools and strains his ears. Footsteps are heard on the floor above and he grabs his gun from the nearby work bench.

Kate wanders aimlessly around her Gibbs' house trying to be quiet so she doesn't wake him. _He's Gibbs. He probably already knows I'm here._ And she was right. He did know that she was there. But he didn't know it was _her._ If he had known it was her, he wouldn't have grabbed his gun. He quietly opens the basement door and it makes contact with something; someone. He throws his weight against the door and aims his gun at the figure crouched behind the door. She holds up one hand as a means of surrendering. Her other hand is covering her nose that blood is beginning to flow out of.

He turns flips the light switch.

"Kate?" She looks up at him, the blood running through her fingers and slowly making its way down her forearm. He offers her a hand pulls her off of the floor. They say nothing as he leads her to a chair at the kitchen table and sits next to her, placing a roll of paper towels between them. He turns his chair to face her.

"Tilt your head forward." He instructs as he holds a wad of paper towels up to her nose until she gets a hold of it.

"I thought you were supposed to tilt your head back?"

"Only if you want the blood going down your throat." She shrugs. Once he sees that she's got everything under control, he opens the refrigerator and takes out two water bottles. He opens one and places the other in front of Kate. She quietly mutters a few words of thanks but doesn't move.

"Kate," her eyes shift over to him. "What're you doing here?"

She looks back down at the floor.

"Did something happen?" She looks at him for a moment and looks back at the floor. _Wow, Gibbs is actually concerned. _She shakes her head from side to side.

"Damn it, Kate!" He slams his hand on the table and she jumps. "I know there's something wrong. I know you're lying. Tell me what's wrong. I'm on your side. Everybody's on your side." She jumps out of her chair.

"Everything's wrong!" she shouts and tears begin to stream down her face. "Everything's so screwed up, Gibbs. I don't know what to do. Two of my cousins are missing, I think the other one's in trouble and on top of that, my crazy uncle is out there somewhere doing God knows what…" she breaks down and starts crying. "I don't know what to do." She repeats. "I have to help her."

"Who? Who do you have to help?" She shakes her head and refuses to say. No matter how much Gibbs prods, she doesn't budge.

Finally, she takes the paper towel away from her face which exposes her face that's covered in dried blood.

"I can't help you if I don't know what's going on, Kate. Why did you come here?"

"I got a phone call from my uncle."

"Jonathon Connelly." She nods. "Was he in on the kidnapping?"

"Yeah. He planned it all out."

"But what about the three kidnappers?"

"They were loose ends. He and Bill Wolff killed them."

"Bill Wolff?" He comes to a realization. "He's the other guy that was calling them."

Kate nods. "I wanted to tell you to go after him, but if I did…you guys would've picked up on the fact that I actually knew something. Fortunately, the pay phone lead gave us something too." She pauses. "I'm sorry I kept this from all of you." Gibbs nods and continues gazing at her.

Suddenly, he remembers the message. "What did he say in the message."

She hesitates. "He said…" she stops. "He said he'd kill me if I interfered with his plans."

"What plans?"

"I don't know. He didn't say." She yawns and Gibbs decides it's time to go to bed.

"The guest bedroom is across from mine. Let's go." He places his hand on her back and leads her upstairs into the bedroom.

He stands in the doorway and watches her get settled.

"If you need anything…don't hesitate. Don't worry about waking me up."

"Okay." She answers quietly. He leaves and she climbs into bed. She hadn't realized how tired she was and quickly drifted off to sleep.

A few minutes later, Gibbs stands in the doorway of the guest bedroom and watches her sleep. But not in a weird Edward Cullen way because he's not like that. He's just there to make sure that she's okay. Once he comes to this conclusion, he walks into his bedroom and falls asleep.

The bullpen is dimly lit, making it hard to see. Aside from a few sounds from the air conditioner all is silent. No one is there.

A soft beep comes from the elevator and someone steps off. The young woman scans the room with her blue, almost grey, eyes as she places a pair of gloves on her hands. What's she's doing is risky and she knows it. On her way to Gibbs' desk, she stops at Kate's. She slips her fingers through the metal handle and slowly pulls back, exposing the contents of the drawer. Nothing extraordinary or interesting. She continues this with all the other drawers until she gets to the drawer on the bottom right. It is resistant. A lock pick is slipped out of her pocket and she goes to work. Fifteen seconds later, a click is heard and the drawer slides open easily. She flips through some notes and notices some pictures stuck in the back right corner. It takes some jiggling, but the pictures eventually come free. The pictures are of a graduation several years earlier. She flips through and stops at the last one; it shows her and Kate smiling happily as she puts the blue graduation cap on Kate's head. She smiles and carefully places it in her pocket.

Suddenly, the door of the Director's office opens and the woman steps out and walks over to the railing. She looks down for a few minutes, surveying her kingdom. A soft smile caused by a memory creeps across her face as she descends into the bullpen. The intruder under Kate's desk doesn't move; she doesn't breathe; she waits. She waits for the older woman to leave, but unfortunately, she doesn't. At least, not soon enough. She decides to take her sweet time sitting at Gibbs' desk. Just before the intruder is ready to fall asleep or attack her, whichever would come first, she notices the expensive shoes saunter by from beneath the desk. The elevator door closes and she is alone once again.

Finally, she reaches her destination: Gibbs' desk. The fake wooden top is covered in manila folders filled with information on past and present cases. Knowing that Gibbs would know if she moved anything on his desk, she tilts her head to the side to read the tabs on the folders. The one she wants is second from the top and she carefully slips it from under the first folder. She decides that she's wasted enough time and slips the folder underneath her jacket. The only light is the light from the down button on the elevator. When the door finally opens to welcome the oncoming passenger, she is not there. She had decided the stairs were faster.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimers: It's annoying to have to do this every chapter. Usual disclaimers apply.

A/N: Also, Happy Father's Day! :D

Chapter Seven

"Boss, I think we should check out this Bill Wolff guy. Says here he lives in an apartment near that Chinese place we always go to." Tony suggests with his mouth full of a breakfast burrito.

"We second and third that!" Abby raises her right hand and raises McGee's hand with her left. Gibbs looks over to Kate who offers a small nod of agreement.

"Okay. Tony, McGee, bring him in and interrogate him." They obey their orders and quickly grab their gear. Abby walks over and sits on the edge of Kate's desk.

"So, Kate. Been sleeping better? You mentioned before that you hadn't been sleeping well."

"Yeah, I've been sleeping much better." Lie.

Abby raises her eyebrows. "Really? 'Cause you still look like hell." Kate glares at her friend, but only for a second.

"Thanks a lot, Abby. Nice to know I can always count on you to make me feel better." She snaps kiddingly. They continue small talk for a few more minutes until Abby finally waves goodbye and skips over to the elevator.

"Hello!" Tony shouts while pounding his fists on the door.

"Tony, I don't think he's home."

"NCIS, open your door or we'll break it down!"

"Tony…"

He cups his hands against his face. "HELLOOOOO!"

A door opens down the hall and a middle aged man walks out angrily.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm look for Bill Wolff." He points to the door. "He lives here."

The man shakes his head. "No he doesn't. He moved a couple a' weeks ago."

"Did he leave a forwarding address?" McGee asks calmly.

"Yeah." The man mumbles and signals them to come into his apartment. McGee and Tony stand cautiously at the door while waiting for the man to give them the address. Dirty clothes and paper plates are scattered around the floor. One plate is stuck to the wall, God only knows how. Tony sticks his tongue out in disgust and quickly fixes his face when he sees the old man walk back out. He scratches the top of his balding head as he hands them the small strip that's covered in food stains.

"Thank you." Tony fakes a smile and they leave. Once the man closes the door, Tony turns to McGee. "Did you see that plate stuck to the wall?!" A gag escapes Tony's throat as they walk back to the elevator. "I think I need a shower just from being in there." He shudders while McGee rolls his eyes.

Kate quietly opens the door to Abby's lab and is immediately engulfed in the loud screamo music that's being played. She watches her friend dance around with a Caf-Pow while waiting for her beloved machines to give her results.

"Abby!" She shouts unsuccessfully. She tries again; nothing. Her eyes scan the lab for the source of the music.

Abby turns around as her music suddenly disappears but no one is there. She walks over to her stereo to find the plug had been pulled from the wall. She reaches to plug it back in when she hears someone behind her.

"Hey." Kate smiles as Abby jumps back.

"That was very Gibbs-like." The Goth compliments. "What d'yah need?"

"I need that computer decrypted." Abby puts down her Caf-Pow.

"Kate, you know I'm still working on it. You also know it's not going to be done any time soon." She feels guilty once she realizes this is not the answer her best friend wants. "I'm sorry. Believe me, when I find anything, you'll be the first to know." She rests a hand on her shoulder as a means of comfort, but she can see that it's not doing much. "You sure there's nothing wrong?"

Kate chews her bottom lip nervously as she remembers Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person, but only if you must. There is no third best. She had already told one other person. Gibbs knowing was bad enough.

"I…" she starts knowing that she has to be careful. Hurting Abby is not her goal. "I can't tell you right now, but I promise you that it's nothing you have to worry about."

"I try to believe that and then I see you." She responds, referring back at the "you look like hell" comment from earlier.

"Abby." Kate chides. "It'll all be sorted out soon, I promise." She hugs her friend and then leaves.

Upstairs, Gibbs is alone in the bullpen being watched by the Director.

"What do you want, Jen?" He asks without looking up from his paperwork.

"Just observing, Jethro." She smirks, knowing that Gibbs doesn't like her staring over his shoulder.

"Don't." He commands.

A few minutes later, Kate steps out of the elevator and heads over to her desk with Jenny's eyes following her the whole way. Kate feels she's being watched and glares at the Director briefly who backs up and disappears into her office. Gibbs chuckles.

"Something funny, Gibbs?" She asks, slightly annoyed.

He shakes his head and reaches over to take a sip of his coffee.

McGee and Tony step out of the elevator, gear in hand. The senior field agent sprints to Kate's desk and slams a piece of paper down, without even stopping.

Kate looks down at the dirty strip of paper that has been thrown on her desk.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barks.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing? What is this?" She asks, both startled and annoyed by his actions.

"It's Bill Wolff's new address. Got it from the landlord. Nice guy." He adds sarcastically. Kate reaches into her bag and places a pair of gloves on. "You're putting gloves on?" Tony laughs.

"Have you seen this piece of paper. God only knows what's on it, where it's been. It's disgusting…like you." She carefully unfolds the piece of paper and recognizes the address immediately.

Tony and McGee collect their belongings. "We're heading out, Boss." Gibbs nods and they leave. Kate and Gibbs work silently until Gibbs goes upstairs to talk the Director.

Kate seizes her window of opportunity and frantically gets hear gear together. Her hand shakes as she writes something on a sticky note and places it on his computer screen.

She jogs back to her desk to grab her bag and her gun and runs to the stairs, the elevator's too slow.

As she runs to her car, she curses herself for parking so far away, with Lilly in tow.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Ugh, usual disclaimers.

A/N: I got zero reviews yesterday. :[ Oh well, here's chapter eight!

Chapter Eight

Gibbs and Jenny had wandered down to the bullpen to get a paper when he came across the sticky note on his screen. _I'm sorry I withheld information. And I'm sorry I haven't told you where I'm going now. I need you. Remember…Rule #3. _

"Rule #3?" The Director asks for clarification.

"Never be unreachable." Gibbs clarifies while picking up the phone to call McGee and Tony back into the office. "Tony, call McGee. Both of you need to come back in now. No, Tony, NOW! It's Kate." Gibbs hangs up before he can ask any questions and calls Abby to tell her the same.

"What's going on, Jethro?"

"Kate's going after her uncle herself." He watches as Jen glares over at Kate's desk. "Hey!" Gibbs hits his desk to get her attention and she jumps in surprise. "You can't tell me you wouldn't and haven't done the same."

"I'll be up in my office, Special Agent Gibbs." She quickly walks up the stairs to her office. Gibbs isn't sure how to activate the tracking device on her cell phone and isn't sure what to do. He walks over to her desk and searches through all the drawers for the address Tony had given her earlier, but she seems to have taken it with her.

The senior field agent and Probie step off the elevator.

"What's up, Boss? Is Kate okay? What's going on?" They both bombard him with questions. They almost lost her to Ari and they don't want that happening again. Jenny watches them quietly from the staircase.

"McGee, activate that GPS thing." McGee tries but is unsuccessful.

"Boss, her phone's not on. I can't tell you where she is."

"Damn it."

Once Kate gets close enough to realize where Kate's going, she releases her death grip on the government issued car and glides along. Kate parks a few blocks away from the house and walks the rest of the way. Upon approaching, she smiles as she thinks about what Tony would say about the house. All the lights are out in the house.

She peers through a window in the back before slowly pushing upward and sliding through. Everything is perfect; nothing is out of place. There's not a speck of dust anywhere in the house. Kate smiles softly. _She hasn't changed._

As she examines a picture, the light switches on and an old enemy stands in the door.

"Katie." He nods and smiles menacingly. Neither of them move.

"Bill." She states as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the knife he slashed her tires with. He notices that she's eying the knife and smiles. "My uncle's not missing, is he?"

The older man laughs and conducts an invisible orchestra with his knife. "You were always smart, Katie. I assume you know I killed those three boys, too."

Kate nods. She had only guessed before, but he just confirmed it. He takes a few steps closer.

"And you knew I was here."

"You left a forwarding address. It wasn't that hard to find you."

"Very resourceful." He winks, causing her to shudder slightly. "I'm sure NCIS appreciates your resourcefulness." He pauses and pulls out a gun and aims it at Kate. "Too bad. I'm sure they'll miss that skill." He waves to gun, signaling her to sit in the armchair she had been standing behind. "Since I'm going to kill you, it wouldn't hurt to tell you what's happening. Your uncle…is working very hard to overthrow the United States government and the only thing standing in his way are his sorry excuses for children." Kate opens her mouth to speak but is cut off. "You know exactly what I mean. They're disgraces that could compromise everything." Kate makes a strange face, asking for clarification. "Well, you know, the twins are Marines, Brian's in the Navy, Julia's in the FBI…and then there's Lilly. She's around somewhere. We haven't really found out exactly what she does yet." Kate blocks this madman's ramblings out of her head as she thinks of a way to escape. "Hey." He snaps in her face. "Pay attention." She apologizes.

"Just wondering, Bill…" She asks intently. "Where is my uncle hiding out?"

"Since you're going to die, I guess there's no harm in telling you." Kate rolls her eyes. "He's hiding in that warehouse that I killed the three boys in. The twins are there, too."

"Why did you kill them? Because they kidnapped-" He cuts her off.

"They didn't kidnap anyone. They were just loose ends. We just set up to look like Jon had been kidnapped."

"Why?"

"So you Navy Cops wouldn't suspect him."

"That didn't really work out." He gives her a strange look. "We knew."

"Really?" He becomes fascinated. "How?"

"My boss…knows everything. And I know you." She smiles. "So what's Uncle Jon gonna do?"

"Why, he's going to kill those idiots first of all; then continue on with his plan." A knot forms in Kate's stomach as she imagines her cousins murder scenes.

"You two are the idiots, not his children." She complains and he raises his gun.

"I'd say our conversation is over." Kate closes her eyes, knowing that she had failed. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rings through the air, but she doesn't feel anything. Confused, she opens her eyes. Bill Wolff lies dead on the floor, blood pooling around the wound in his head. Mrs. Connelly emerges from the dark room she had been standing in.

"You…shot him …in the head!" Kate states in surprise.

Her aunt smiles. "I have to boys in the Marines, one in the Navy and I've been living with your uncle for twenty five years. I don't mess around. I shoot to kill." Kate stares at her in shock. "That's not very attractive, Caitlin. Close your mouth." She commands as she walks out of the room. Kate follows her, making sure not to step on the body or disturb evidence. In the kitchen, her aunt is boiling some water for a cup of tea. She starts talking with her back turned to Kate. "Finally, that man will be out of my house once and for all." Kate leans against the door frame.

"I don't have much time."

"Then what are you still doing here? Go out and get my boys. I'll take care of NCIS." Kate nods and exits.

"I'll bring them back safely." She promises as she walks down the hall to the door.

A click is heard as the door latches.

"I know you will." The older woman sighs as she picks up the phone and dials DiNozzo's work number.

The phone on Tony's desk rings and he's too distracted to notice it.

"Uh…Tony, you're phone is ringing."

"What did you say, Probie?"

"Your phone is ringing."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimers: The usual.

A/N: I apologize for my grammar/spelling mistakes. They're probably stupid ones that I shouldn't make, but I usually don't reread my chapters because I'm afraid that if I do, I'll think it's terrible and stop writing. Which I realize is dumb, so…I'll start rereading I guess.

Chapter Nine

"I'm coming, I'm coming." A voice from the inside warns, causing Tony to stop ringing the doorbell with such urgency. The door opens, revealing the woman they had visited before. A look of anger spreads across her face and then disappears once she realizes that she's scaring McGee. They stand there for a few seconds, overwhelmed in awkwardness. Mrs. Connelly is the first to make move and walks down the hall into her kitchen.

"If you could show us where the body is-" Tony starts, but is cut off.

"Would either of you like anything to drink? I have coffee, tea, soda, water, milk…" Tony opens his mouth and tries to interrupt, but he stops when he notices he's recipient of the death glare he often receives from Kate. "Orange juice, apple juice and cranberry juice." She finishes.

"No thank you, Mrs. Connelly." McGee declines politely. "Could you please show us where the body is?"

"Sure." She smiles. "Right this way."

Gibbs sat quietly in the bullpen reading over files by himself. Tony and McGee had gone out and Kate wasn't in. Suddenly, the door to the stairs slams open revealing Abby who sprints over to his desk. She grabs onto the edge of his desk to steady herself and catch her breath. Gibbs raises his eyebrows as she gasps for air.

"I " GASP "have a trace" GASP "on Kate's phone." She finally states.

"Do you have anything yet?" The Director asks as she appears out of nowhere.

Abby begins to speak to Gibbs, ignoring the Director who becomes slightly annoyed.

"She's on her way back to that warehouse that we found the kidnappers in." Gibbs begins opening drawers, collecting the things he needs.

"You can't go alone." The Director states. "Wait until McGee and Tony get back and take them."

Gibbs continues to ignore her.

"Jethro." She warns. "You can't do this alone. You can't just burst in there without backup."

He expertly places his government issued gun into the holster on his hip and walks out.

"Hey," Abby turns the older woman's attention on herself.

"What?" She snaps.

Abby pauses, slightly taken aback. "I was just going to say…that you shouldn't worry. Gibbs is going to be fine."

"Mrs. Connelly, I'm going to have to ask you to STOP cleaning." The middle aged woman unhappily leans her broom against the couch and places the dustpan on the top of a nearby pillow.

"I can't even clean in my own house?"

"Not when your house is a _crime scene_." Tony retorts.

"Don't use the tone with me." She warns, causing Tony to laugh sarcastically.

"Or what?"

"You see that man on the floor over there?" Tony nods. "I killed him. Don't make me kill you too."

"Don't make me arrest you, old woman." Upon hearing the insult, she grabs the broom tightly and begins to come closer to the senior field agent. His eyes widen as he steps back. "I'm sorry, I didn't' mean it." He quickly apologizes, attempting to patch things up.

McGee turns off the camera and decides to intervene. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could I talk to you in the hall for a moment?" She backs slowly into the hallway followed by McGee. Tony sticks his tongue out at her back.

"You'll have to forgive my partner…he can be a little…_immature_ sometimes." He chooses his words carefully.

"In other words, you mean he's an idiot."

McGee thinks for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. "You learn to ignore it after a while."

The woman places a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you have to put up with him." She smiles and walks into the kitchen. McGee walks back into the living room and continues taking pictures.

"Probie," Tony snaps his fingers to get his attention. "Probie! I'm surprised you're alive. She's nuts." He points warily to the kitchen.

The front door bursts open and McGee and Tony draw their guns. Gibbs walks around the corner.

"McGee," he points. "With me." Tony's eyes widen as he realizes what's happening.

"Boss, no! You can't leave me here alone!" Mrs. Connelly stands in the doorway to the living room. "She's a nut." He points to her and she rolls her eyes.

"Boss, I can stay here if you want." McGee offers. He'd rather stay out of danger anyway, but he'd never admit it, of course.

Gibbs accepts and hurries Tony out of the house, leaving McGee to continue processing.

Meanwhile, in the car, Tony is hanging on for dear life as Gibbs drives well over the speed limit. The headlights look like shooting stars as Gibbs weaves in and out of lanes. Tony begins to mutter something.

"DiNozzo, what are you doing?"

"I'm praying, Boss." He shields his eyes as Gibbs avoids a parked car and begins driving down the sidewalk. Tony knows better than to warn Gibbs of the laws that he's breaking and stays silent except for the whimpers and gasps of surprise every so often.

Finally, the pair skid to a halt outside of the warehouse. Tony opens his door and stumbles out onto his hands and knees on the cold pavement. Gibbs grabs his collar and drags him until he stands up and walks on his own.

"Should've brought McGee." He rolls his eyes.

"McGee," Tony points back to the car. "Would not have survived that!" Tony continues speaking gibberish as they try the front door to the warehouse. Locked.

"Tony, go around back and try that door." He whistles the Mission Impossible theme song as he peeks around the corner secret agent style, gun drawn. He's too caught up in his childish games to realize that someone is walking behind him with a baseball bat. Finally, he reaches the back door and as he places his hand on the doorknob, something makes contact with his knee and it gives out. He instinctively grabs his knee as he collapses onto the ground. The hit to the knee is followed up by a hit to his side. A groan escapes Tony's mouth as he curls into a ball onto the ground. Tony is silenced after receiving a blow to the head. His body goes limp and he is dragged through the door into the warehouse.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Hey, I think he's-" One man starts.

"-Waking up." The other one finishes as he nudges the badly beaten, semi-conscious man between them. He lets out a small groan as he opens his eyes for a moment and closes them again.

"No, no, no…Let me sleep."

"Stay awake." The second man nudges again. "Don't go back to sleep."

Sensing that they're being ignored, the first man shifts his weight, raises his foot in the air and slams it down quickly causing a loud BOOM to bounce off the walls of the almost empty room. "HEY!" he shouts. "WAKE UP!"

Tony sits up quickly. "I'm awake, I'm awake." He surrenders, looking to his right. "Special Agent DiNozzo."

"Kyle." The young man on his right nods.

"Peter." They smile.

Deciding that he had waited long enough, Gibbs expertly kicks down the door and enters the warehouse. The last time he had been here it had been dark, with the only inhabitants being rats, cockroaches and three dead bodies.

"DiNozzo." He calls out, but does not receive a reply. He looks to the right to see a large rat scurrying away with a rotten hamburger. Suddenly, he hears footsteps; they are faint at first, but as they come closer, their echo becomes clearer. But the sound is not of someone wading through trash, it is the sound of someone walking on metal. He looks up to a figure walking on a metal catwalk about thirty feet off the ground. "Hey!" He calls. The figure above breaks into a run and disappears through a door.

He climbs the ladder, gun in hand, and follows the same path the person before him had. The door before him is dented and rusted. He hesitates for a moment as he grasps the cold metal doorknob. He thinks of his two agents and says a silent prayer for them. Deciding that he's waited long enough, he opens the door to…an elevator shaft with a ladder instead of an actual elevator.

She had done her research; gotten the _real_ floor plans, found the best ways to get in, found out where the hostages were being held. The floor plans the city had were at least fifteen years old and didn't have the more recent additions in it: the basement. Kate had also her way to the basement just a few minutes before. She had done the same thing for Kate as she did for Gibbs. Now she could move on and backup Kate. _Gibbs can handle himself_, she thinks to herself.

Kate's footsteps in front of her are the only sounds being made on the current level. Beneath Kate are three more levels; the lowest level being the dungeon where her cousins and Tony are being held.

Kate takes a right around a pile of boxes filled with God knows what. Her eyes meet with the barrel of a gun.

"Go home, Katie." He commands, but she does not move. "I said: Go home." He moves his thumb slightly and the gun clicks; Kate doesn't flinch. She looks to the ground and waits, but doesn't hear a gun shot. Instead, she hears two thumps. Her eyes open to see her uncle laying on the floor, a small pool of blood beginning to pool around a fresh wound on his head, and her cousin.

"Lilly." She breathes as wide smile crosses the young woman's face. They embrace for a moment.

"The sooner we get down there the better." Lilly reminds the older woman.

"You're right. But that could take hours. This place is like a maze."

"I know the way." Kate gives her a strange look. "Come on, we'll walk and talk." Kate agrees and hurries to keep up with the pace of her cousin. "I've been following you. Yeah, I know creepy." Kate opens her mouth to speak, but Lilly holds up her hand to stop her. "I was just trying to protect you and I have to say, I did a pretty good job. Sorry about your tires, though. I didn't think you needed to be watched _that_ closely, but I was wrong. It was Bill who slashed your tires the first time, by the way." Kate nods as she tries to keep up. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you when I got to D.C. I tried to let you know I was here, though. I left you my ring. I thought that was obvious enough."

"I got that." The brunette answers quietly.

"Good, I knew you would. You were always the smart one, Kate. I mean, compared to your two crazy brothers and your sister." They take a few more turns and finally open the door to another ladder.

They descend into darkness for a few moments until they walk through the door to the next level. The suddenness of the light causes the women to flinch and blink furiously. Boxes were piled high just like the previous level. Whoever had designed the building hadn't been very creative; all the floors were set up the same. All of the ladders were in the same place, which made navigating much easier. They quickly find the ladder and again on the next floor.

They finally descend the last ladder and as they turn the handle to open the "dungeon," the door swings open. Tony is leading in the front, knife in hand, with the twins on his flanks. As a reflex, the women both raise their guns.

"Kate!" The twins exclaim happily.

"Boys!" Lilly responds.

"Who's this?" Tony asks, using the knife as a pointer.

"She's our sister."

"She's my cousin." Kate and the boys answer at the same time.

A few seconds later, steps are heard coming down the ladder. Everyone turns to see Gibbs walk through the doorway. They exchange hellos.

"You guys alright?" he asks, genuinely concerned for the health of his agents. They all nod.

"Well," Peter starts.

"We are pretty hungry." Kyle finishes.

"Famished, actually." Peter continues.

Gibbs smirks. "I think we can do something about that." He pauses. "Who's blood is that upstairs?"

"You mean whose body." Lilly corrects.

"There's no body up there. Just a pool of blood." Kate and Lilly look warily at each other.

"It's Jon's blood. His body used to be there, too."

A/N: There will only be one more chapter. I hope you've enjoyed the story. :] Thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"You broke into NCIS. You endangered the lives of my agents. You…" The Director continues her lecture. Lilly Todd sits slumped in the uncomfortable chair, examining her fingernails, looking quite bored. "I'm sorry, am I boring you, Miss Connelly?"

The young woman glares at her. " It's Todd and yes, you are boring me." She states bluntly, looking back at her fingernails.

"Well, I'm so very sorry." She snaps. "Maybe we should move to an interrogation room."

A smile spreads across the younger woman's face. "I tend to get bored when people tell me things I'm already aware of. It's repetitive and very annoying."

"Well," the Director starts.

"Uh, no." Lilly interrupts. "A lecture on respecting those of higher authority is also unnecessary. I've heard it before, also. The Undersheriff of the crime lab I worked at made sure it was drilled into my brain."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen years old. So don't even think about offering me any of that bourbon over there." She smiles as Jen gives her a strange look. "I saw the cabinet over there. I didn't think you were allowed to drink on the clock. I'm pretty sure you're breaking some sort of rule there."

Jen's face flushes as she ignores the last statement. "Where did you work before?"

She shifts uncomfortably in the leather chair. "Las Vegas Crime Lab. Night shift."

"She's been up there a looooong time." Tony says as he sits on the corner of Kate's desk. "McProbie? What's the time now?"

Tim lifts his left arm and pulls up his sleeve. "Thirty nine minutes and 27 seconds. 28, 29…"

"Alright! Both of you stop." The brunette shouts. "I'm going to get food." She grabs her purse and enters the elevator.

The door to the Director's office suddenly opens and Lilly walks out, followed by Gibbs and Jen. Lilly quickly hops down the stairs as the other two watch her, whispering quietly to each other.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Tony shouts. "How was it? I understand if you're a little shaky, the Director can be scary when she wants to be."

"I wasn't scared." She answers sharply. They continue to bicker for a few more minutes.

"You shouldn't be too hard on her, Jen."

"She broke the rules, Jethro."

"She reminds me a little of you." Gibbs smirks as Jenny looks at him in surprise.

"Jethro!" Gibbs turns and starts to walk down the stairs.

"Admit it, Jen. You can't say you wouldn't and haven't already done the same thing. She did what she had to do to protect someone close to her. You would've done the exactly the same thing and you know it."

In the bull pen, McGee works furiously on his computer as Lilly reclines in Kate's chair with her feet resting on the desk. Tony, however, is not working like he should be, instead, he is working on solving a Rubik's cube. After several sighs and groans, he slams it on the desk…only to pick it up again a few moments later.

Lilly glances over at the struggling man until she can't take it any longer. Suddenly, she is standing in front of Tony's desk. "Hand over the cube, Anthony." He pouts and hugs the unsolved cube against his expensive Italian suit. She lunges over the desk and grabs the cube out of his hands. "You're doing it wrong." She snaps. After several quick twists and turns, she slams it back down onto his desk and places her hands on her hips.

Tony looks from the Rubik's cube to her in awe. "That was amazing!" He exclaims and starts opening drawers and looking around, finally coming across a yard stick. "Kneel down." He commands.

"You're a loon."

"Fine." He places the end of the yardstick on her shoulder.

"Remove that-" She starts.

"I hereby dub thee…Sir Rubix!" he taps her other shoulder.

"What's wrong with my real name?" She asks skeptically.

"Nothing! I just think you should be recognized for your talent."

"It's not a talent. It's just a series of-"

"DiNozzo, stop wasting time. I want your report by the end of the day." Gibbs orders and he swiftly walks by. Tony suddenly becomes very interested in the report on his computer.

"Oh, no. It was my fault. I was talking to him." Lilly tries to cover for her new friend.

"You get to work too. You'll need supplies. The desk'll be here soon. And where's Kate?"

"Is that a job offer, sir?" She asks sarcastically as she sits back down and resumes her previous position in Kate's chair. A few moments pass where everything is silent except for the tapping coming from both Tony and McGee's keyboards.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to go get supplies for your desk. What're you waiting for?"

Lilly leans forward and folds her hands on the desk. "Sir, I didn't think you were serious."

"Boss, you're serious? She's going to work with us?" Tony asks excitedly, followed by Gibbs nodding wearily.

"YES!" Tony and Lilly exclaim at the same time.

Kate steps out of the elevator carrying the team's dinner. She places it on Tony's desk and pulls out the boxes. People start to crowd around and grab the food they want. Soon, everyone is laughing, joking and having a good time. McGee ever takes a break from writing his report.

"Rubix, pass me the rice." Tony reaches and pouts like a little kid.

"Rubix?" Kate questions.

"I guess it's my new nickname." She shrugs.

"Rubix," Gibbs calls. "If you're going to work at NCIS, you can't pull any crap like you did last night. Behave yourself." Upon hearing what her subordinate says, Jen rolls her eyes. _She's going to cause problems. I can feel it._

"You too." He nods at Kate and she smiles back at him.

The elevator doors open and Abby walks out with a packet of papers in hand.

"You guys got Chinese food and didn't tell me?" Feeling slightly guilty, Kate piles everything onto a plate and hands it to her best friend. "Thank you, Kate. Now, I have something for you. I finally got through encryption software on the computer and got this." She places the packet in Kate's hands. "Detailed plans of how he's going overthrow our government." Rubix reads over Kate's shoulder.

"These won't be any good now." Rubix sighs.

"What? Why?" Tony asks.

Rubix grabs them from Kate and holds them up. "He's not stupid. He's going to change plans now."

"I'm Abby." The lab rat extends her hand.

Rubix grasps and shakes it. "I'm Lilly, but you can call me Rubix."

"Wait? What's this?"

"There are also detailed plans for…eliminating his children." Everyone goes silent and looks to Rubix.

"What?" She asks. "I'm not worried."

"You aren't?" Asks Tony.

"Not when I've got you guys backing me up." A few moments later, two men struggling with a desk round the corner. It's too heavy for them to hold it up any longer and they drop it. Kate places an arm around her cousin's shoulders and pulls her close.

"Where do you want this?"

Gibbs points to the empty space next to his desk and the men slowly carry it over. Another man quickly rolls a chair over and leaves.

"Just wondering…whose desk is that?" She points to a desk that's been vacant every time she's been in the building. An awkward silence envelopes the bull pen and everyone fidgets uncomfortably.

"That's…uh…well…" McGee is unable to put a sentence together.

"That's Ziva's desk." Abby answers for him.

"Who's Ziva?"

A/N: Whooooa my God, I'm super pumped. This is the fanfic I've ever finished…ever. Thanks for reading! I'm working on a sequel. Ziva'll be back. :] ALSO! If you hadn't noticed…I sort of set up for a NCIS/CSI crossover at some point…so…that could happen sometime this summer. Once again, thanks for reading and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! You're all wicked cool. :] Also, in the future, I'll try to get a beta. I've got someone in miiiind.


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